Human Touch
by Sheryl Nantus
Summary: Mulder and Scully fight.... and don't really make up...


Please do not post to ATXC - IÕll do that myself...and Please Archive... grin... 

All Characters copyright of TenThirteen Productions and Chris Carter. No infringement intended on any part... go ahead, take me to court...I'm using the insanity defence... heh, heh, heh... 

Comments, complaints and just plain talk to sheryl_martin@goodmedia.com 

Summary: Mulder and Scully fight.... and don't really make up...Spoilers: None...Rating: G... Story... 

Human Touch (1/1)by Sheryl Martin 

The apartment door flew open; the tall man strutting into the darkness before the actual owner had a chance to flick on the lights. Tossing his coat over the far chair with such force that it managed to slip over and land in a heap on the floor, Mulder sank down on the couch. 

Ignoring the tantrum, Scully walked by him; neatly hanging her own trench coat up on the rack. 

"I don't understand how you don't see it, Scully..." He growled, continuing the argument. "You saw it; I saw it..." 

"I saw nothing." She calmly replied, walking into the kitchen. "Neither did you." 

"But it was obvious..." 

"We SAW nothing. Conclusions drawn by the evidence are based on what you and I think; therefore it's not obvious that we'd come to the same conclusion..." Slipping her feet out of her shoes, the petite woman sighed in relief; kicking them towards the hallway. Reaching into the cupboard, she picked out two mugs. "Hot chocolate or coffee?" 

"Chocolate." He snapped back. "I'm too dammed wired for any more caffeine..." 

"No kidding..." She whispered to herself. 

"What was that?" 

"Nothing... I still say that we have to go with the preliminary report that I made up - state the facts and let Skinner and the rest of them make their own minds up." Tapping the spoon on the side of the mug, she stared down into the brown crystals. "Marshmallows?" 

"Yah... three, please..." Mulder sighed. "All those paperpushers are going to do is file it under a different category of unexplained because they don't have the imagination or the will to want to see things as..." He waved his hands in the air angrily, searching for the words. 

"A extreme possibility?" Scully smiled to herself, glad that he couldn't see her. 

"Exactly!" He yelled back. 

"Mulder, you have to admit that some of our cases are rather... unique..." Walking back into the room, she handed him a mug; watching him sip the foam off the top. "And that means that anyone looking at them from the outside is going to be a bit more skeptical. And rightly so." 

"Yah?" He looked at her; the thick brown moustache giving him a comical look. "Your point?" 

Stifling a laugh, she leaned over and casually dragged her finger over his upper lip; erasing it. "Which means that the more you passionately argue it, the less likely they are to believe it." 

"Is that what you do?" Putting the mug down on the table, he leaned over; resting his elbows on his knees while running his hands over his face wearily. "You just pick my theories apart to make them not work?" 

"I pick them apart to make sure that they do." The redhead walked back into the kitchen to get her own mug. "And to even out your bias..." 

"Biased? Me?" The squeaky last word had her chuckling. "Scully, I'm not biased..." 

Shaking her head, she sighed as she reentered the living room. "Whatever you say, Mulder..." Putting the hot chocolate down, she put a hand on the back on his neck. "God, Mulder... you are stressed out..." 

"What tells you that?" Still leaning forward, he took another sip from his mug. 

"Because your back is a solid rock." Putting one hand at the back of his neck, she nodded. "Here - lean back for a second and let me rub a few of these kinks out..." 

"Heh-heh-heh... she said kinks..." Mulder droned with a grin, yelping as she hit a sore spot. "Hey!" 

"Oh.... sorry..." The implied non-apology said it all. Taking ahold of the back of his neck, she forcibly dragged it back so that he was now staring at the ceiling. "Mulder... I don't need you having a stroke here in my living room... just relax a bit..." The fingers hovered for a second before burrowing into his shoulder blades; digging deep. Moving up, they traced the loose fabric of the collar before delving into the narrows of his neck. 

"But then I'd be able to haunt you, Scully..." He grunted, feeling the tightness begin to lessen a fraction. 

"And then I'll have to explain this one to Skinner..." She mumbled in reply; pushing his head now forward again to gain fuller access to his neck. Dragging her knuckles slowly down his spine over the thin white shirt, she heard a low moan of relief. "Feel good?" 

"Tell me you learnt this in medical school..." 

"My mother, actually..." A slight chuckle from behind his left ear. "She used to have to give my father rubs like this when he got in on leave - he was so stressed out at times that she was sometimes up for hours; working on his back..." A twinge of sadness crept into her voice. "I used to watch her, trying to figure out how he could be so tense..." The fingers lifted from his back for a second, then returned with a vengeance. "Now I understand, of course..." 

"Hmm..." Resting his elbows again on his knees, Mulder tugged his tie loose. "I see it runs in the family..." Another sharp pain jolted him upright; sending him sitting upright like a steel rod. "Scully..." The last syllable dragged out in a grimace of pain. 

"Mulder, you're all knotted up here..." A slow rub with the palm of her hand; circling the affected area. "Look, just because I disagree with you doesn't mean you're wrong..." 

"Of course. I'm never wrong." 

A snort from behind his right ear this time. "Oh, please..." 

"Scully, you're always wrong. That's all there is to it. I'm always right, you're always wrong and we always disagree in the end..." One hand came free to cover his mouth as a yawn escaped. "And you drive me crazy in the interval between the extremes..." 

"Glad to see you've reduced my existence to nothing more than a mere counterbalance to your impeccable logic..." The slow kneading travelled up his spine again; then down. "You know, some agents would be upset with that sort of childish analysis of their relationship..." 

Mulder chuckled, cupping his chin in one hand as his eyes closed in response to the waves of tension easing out of his body. "Well, some agents don't understand me like you do." 

"I can put it on an interoffice memo: Any agents assigned to work with Mulder must first shoot him in the shoulder to get his attention..." 

"Low blow, Scully..." 

Now her soft laugh echoed in his ear. "Heh-heh-heh... he said blow..." 

Turning to look at her, Mulder smiled. "See, I am a good influence on you." 

Standing up straight, the redhead reached for her own cooling cup of chocolate. "Oh, that scares me..." 

Letting his head slump to one side of the couch, the dark-haired man stared across the room at nothing. "Man, I'm tired..." 

"You don't have to play coy with me, Mulder..." Taking another mouthful of her drink, Scully chuckled. "You can sleep on the couch tonight, if you want. Much rather have that than you end up piled up around a telephone pole somewhere and I have to explain that one." 

Pulling his feet up onto the cushions, Mulder put his head down on the ever present cushions with an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Gee, Scully... I never knew how much paperwork I save you from..." 

Stifling her own weary yawn, she walked over to him; carefully pulling down the afghan from the back of the couch and draping it over his lanky body. The colourful Navaho patterns rode over him like a wave of colours; rising and falling with each breath. 

"I still say I'm right... and we'll put that on the report..." He mumbled, his face almost immersed in the blanket. 

"We'll talk about it tomorrow. And you're buying breakfast." Running her hand along the fringes of the afghan, she tucked the edges in around his neck. "And don't suffocate yourself..." 

"More paperwork, yah - I know..." Suddenly one hand snaked free of the crocheted design; capturing hers and pressing it to his cheek. "Thanks, Scully..." He sleepily nuzzled into her palm; the bristles of his face just enough to rasp along her delicate skin. "You keep me sane..." 

"I thought I drove you crazy..." Gently pulling free of his grasp, she ruffled his hair playfully. 

Letting a last long yawn escape, he closed his eyes. "Same thing, Scully... same thing..." 

Shaking her head, she turned off the light in the living room; turning down the hallway to her bedroom and solitude. Sitting down heavily on the bed, Scully smiled and looked towards the darkened corridor and the sleeping man. 

"Same thing, Mulder..." She whispered back to the shadows. "Same thing..." 

******************* 


End file.
